“When we read together…we are taken out of our aloneness. Together, we see the world. Together, we see one another. We connect. And when we connect, we are changed.”
Kate DiCamillo
Kathy Collins reiterated this message in her closing keynote at TCRWP’s Reading Institute last Friday when urged hundreds of teachers to “make this the year of the story in your classroom.”
Unfortunately, many children arrive at school without a sense of the importance of stories. So it is up to us, their teachers, to instill a love of stories and reading in our students, to turn the children in our classrooms into readers. As we get ready to welcome our new students (or reflect on the first weeks of school), here’s a poem celebrating the power of story to enrich and change our lives.
Notes on the Art of Poetry
by Dylan Thomas
I could never have dreamt that there were such goings-on
in the world between the covers of books,
such sandstorms and ice blasts of words,,,
such staggering peace, such enormous laughter,
such and so many blinding bright lights,, ,
splashing all over the pages
in a million bits and pieces
all of which were words, words, words,
and each of which were alive forever
in its own delight and glory and oddity and light.
Please be sure to visit Laura at Live Your Poem for the Poetry Friday Round Up.
Reading to the Core 
Hadn’t seen this Thomas poem. Wonderful! Have a great new story-filled school year!
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This is a new poem to me, and I love it. Thanks for sharing these wonderful words!
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Wonderful, Catherine. I’ve never seen this either. Thank you for “I could never have dreamt that there were such goings-on…” Isn’t that a lovely first line?
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I’ll join the others by saying that this is a new poem for me, too. Love those last three lines!
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This: in its own delight and glory and oddity and light. LOVE. Thank you so much for sharing, Catherine!
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I love Kate Di Camillo’s message about making this a year of story in the classroom. What a challenge – and what an adventure too. Loved reading Dylan Thomas’ poem too.
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This is going up in my classroom next to the list/poem by Gary Paulsen “Why I Read.”
I discovered yesterday that I have a class that quite vocally “hates” poetry. The gauntlet has been thrown, but I’m up for the challenge!
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Such a lovely message and great poem to bring it all home. Love the idea of focusing on the importance of stories!
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Hooray for stories in all their forms, Catherine! I love this line in Thomas’ poem:
“such sandstorms and ice blasts of words” – the extremes that stories can allow us to experience. Happy new school year! = )
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Thank you for this poem. I had not read it before. Always such surprises at Poetry Friday!
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